Reflection on a Fascinating Trail

I am very excited to share with you what my group and I had discovered during our fruitful journey in Bukit Timah. It was a warm Saturday morning on 30 January 2010, when we embarked on a trail to heighten our knowledge on the sites and places of historical value in Bukit Timah. I found the entire trail easier to navigate as we had conducted some background research pertaining to our proposed destinations and was disseminated among ourselves prior to the trip.

I was glad that we planned our route meticulously before heading for the trail and ended on time. Moreover, it was a true blessing as one of our peers, has generously offered her family car as our mode of transportation for that memorable trip. We visited many destinations and captured lots of pictures to be kept as reminiscences. Of those visited places, I was most interested in our last stop, Bukit Brown Cemetery at Kheam Road.

It caught my attention since it has been recognized as one the oldest Chinese cemeteries in Singapore and I am a Chinese. Moreover, it heightened my curiosity when I realized the relationship between my family name (Ong) and the history of the place. I recollected during my secondary school days, I heard little about the Hokkien Ong clan from my father until my sisters and I were awarded the scholarships from the clan. To my surprise, this clan of mine used to own such a large piece of land for more than half a century. I find it really touching to know that regardless of one being rich or poor, all were given equal access to burial plots.

Upon visiting to the cemetery, I was rather disappointed with how the cemetery has been conserved. Honest speaking, the effort in preserving this historical heritage was unsuccessful to a large extend. My first impression of it was more like a jungle than a cemetery. There was the absence of a signboard indicating the name of the cemetery except for a yellow notice plate stating the operating days and time. The main gates of the cemetery were old and rusty. I reckoned if I could safely lock the gates. Moreover, I recalled there were many bulky construction materials along the way towards the cemetery so I supposed there was some sort of construction activities around the area but certainly not for the preservation of the cemetery!